A Day At the Beach
by egor11572
Summary: As always, trying to something remotely normal blows up in the Animorphs face. Only, this time, it's at the beach...
1. Chapter One

Hey.  I don't own the Animorphs (seriously, if I was K.A., I'd be making you guys bow down to me) and I probably wouldn't be writing fanfiction, I'd be publishing my stories, fancy that.  So, don't sue me.  I don't have money.  That means, it's pointless.

I hope you enjoy my lovely beginnings of a chaptered, I guess it's novel length fic, beginning with Marco.  I haven't figured out where this is going, I just really had some ideas about how to start this, and some fun bits of dialogue that I haven't posted yet.  So, review, and tell me if I should finish at all. 

Susan

************************************************************************

**A Day at the Beach**

Chapter 1: Marco's POV

I'm Marco.  And I was supposed to enjoy my weekend.  That's what weekends are for.  To be enjoyed.  Guys are supposed to check out girls.  Girls are supposed to check out guys.  The circle of life.  Almost.

Of course, my life is nowhere near that circle.  It hasn't been remotely close since I witnessed something that I never want to talk about or think about again.  The death of Prince Elfangor.

Sorry.  I usually save the morbid tales for later on in the story.  I'm just still slightly angry about my weekend.  Actually slightly angry doesn't begin to cut it.  Maybe extremely, totally and absolutely pissed off does.

You see, Jake has this thing.  When Jake says "No Yeerks, just a day of being normal," it never means that.  I swear, the guy's my best friend, but he jinxes our possible day of normalities every time.

What did he jinx this time, you might be asking.  Our dear, fearless leader Jake, jinxed the words that every guy wants to hear on a weekend in June, when the sun is lounging about in the sky and its eighty-five degrees and there are hot girls wearing bikinis.

Yes.  Jake said, "Let's go to the beach."

Now, I tried to forgive him in the beginning.  He had good intentions, he really did.  He saw Cassie in a bathing suit and, needless to say, decided he needed to see her like that again.

Jake's not usually into the whole, checking out girls thing.  I guess because he's too much of the older brother sensible type.  The guy you wouldn't think would be looking.  I'll bet he does.  He just doesn't announce that he does.

Anyway.  Jake likes Cassie.  Cassie likes Jake.  Cassie obviously looks good enough in a bikini to want to go to the beach with Jake.

And Cassie and Jake can't go anywhere without their band of morons following them around.  Especially on an eighty-five degree day where the world practically screams "Go to the beach!"

So, their band of morons followed them to the beach.  Me, the adorable, sweet, cute, funny one.  Rachel, the one I'd love to see in a bathing suit.  Tobias, the bird.  Ax, the alien.  They'd be humans, obviously.  Otherwise it would just be stupid.

But, the funny thing is, even though we were all humans, it was still stupid.  Funny how things work that way, huh?

It's even funnier how every time Jake says "Let's just be normal for a day," it always blows up in our faces and we end up an inch from death, either about to become pancakes or disemboweled.

Okay, not funny.  Maybe not to you.  But if I survive, and can look back over it and go, what in the world is wrong with my friends and I, then it's obviously worth a laugh, am I right?

Okay.  Maybe not.  But still.  Jake said, "Let's be normal."  And each and every time he says it, it never happens.  Next time I'll have him say, "You guys, let's go looking for trouble."  Maybe then we won't find any.

I think it's just our luck that no matter what any of us says, trouble just seems to follow us wherever we go.  Even to the beach.


	2. Chapter Two

Ah…Finally…The plot thickens…Okay, if you're enjoying this, I might as well advertise my other fanfiction, The Freedom of Being Trapped, and Xena and the Hawk.  The first one is very angsty, and the other is very R/T.  Yeah.  Okay.  I hope you enjoy this chapter, which is longer than the Marco babble of the first one.  And you are free to leave suggestions as to what will happen.  (I don't know yet ;) )  And, I don't own the Animorphs.  I think we've gone over that already.

Susan

************************************************************************

**A Day at the Beach**

Chapter 2- Jake's POV

I'm Jake, and I admit it.  Marco made me promise that I would tell you something.  I'm really not that into Marco's promise, however.  But, with Marco comes blackmail.  We all know that.

Anyway.  The three words Marco's friends try to stop themselves from saying at all costs.  Unless of course, Marco threatens to tell the girl you like a whole lot something you'd rather her not hear.  The three words Marco made me promise to say- Marco was right.

I admit it.  The guy has a brain, even if he uses it mostly for video games and bad jokes.  He told me, never, ever, to say "Let's do something normal."  He's right.  Never again will I say that.  I also will never bow down to him, which was his other formal request.  I figured he might as well tell Cassie whatever he wants, because I would never in my right mind bow down to him.

The guy should be in Hollywood.  Really.

So.  The beach.  It was my idea.  What's wrong with the beach, really?  Unless you happen to be sitting near sweaty, hairy, fat, bald guys, many of which Marco wishes to kick off the beach.

But we weren't sitting near them.  Marco and I arrived first, and, according to our policy of not going anywhere in public as a group, we set up a cooler and a blanket and an umbrella.

My mother packed the umbrella.  Since she had the car to drive us to the beach, I didn't argue.

Rachel and Cassie arrived next, Rachel, decked out in the summer Abercrombie wardrobe, with every guy on the beach looking at her.  Except me.  I was a bit more focused on Cassie.

Cassie doesn't think she's pretty.  She is, but she doesn't flaunt it, or dress like Rachel, or wear makeup.  I don't mind.  She's perfect the way she is.

Tobias and Ax arrived next.  Each a human for two hours on end.  Tobias was looking around warily.  I couldn't tell if it was because he wasn't used to having bad human eyes, or because every guy on the beach was staring directly at Rachel.

Ax was eating one of those giant, seriously foot long hotdogs that sticks about 85 miles out of the bun.  Eating is a nice way of putting it, however.  It was more like slobbering, sucking, and chewing very messily, with flecks of food dripping all over his face.

And no matter how oddly attractive his well-built human morph is, there was no girls looking at him.

Cassie was attacked with a fit of the giggles as they approached and we acted out a scene of "Hi! Fancy meeting you here!  Want to hang out with us?" for any possible Controller watching us.

The thing is, there were a lot weirder people on the beach then a jittery Tobias, beautiful Rachel, slobbering Ax, an egotistical Marco, Cassie and I.

"Hey Cassie," I said, sidling up to her and giving her a half hug.  I was kind of afraid to touch her, to be honest.  She was wearing…Well, it was more like she was not wearing a lot.  Her swimsuit was most definitely a bikini and it most definitely showed a lot of her that I had never seen before.

"Hey Jake," she responded.  She didn't sound too happy.

"What's wrong?" I asked quickly, trying very, very hard to stare straight into her eyes, but not succeeding, and in the process turning a brilliant shade of Crayola crayon color razzle-dazzle red.

"Aww…Aren't Jake and Cassie just adorable?" Rachel purred.  Before I could give her the death look, she had grabbed Tobias' arm and dragged him off towards the ocean.

"I'd tell her to put on sunscreen, but she won't burn," Cassie said, laughing as Tobias tripped and fell headfirst into the water.

"She's got some ability to prevent everything harmful, doesn't she?"  I said dryly.

"Oh, most definitely," Cassie said giggling.

"You think she would ever dump Bird-Boy for me?" Marco asked us.

"Dump?  What does this human expression mean?" Ax asked, confusedly.  It was hard to answer him, considering the fact that he had mustard, sauerkraut, and other unidentified substances covering the face of his human morph.

Cassie snorted, and Marco turned to Ax indignantly.  "Ax, you really need to clean your face off, girls are turning away from me because I'm standing next to you."  Ax began to vigorously wipe his face with the side of his arm.

"I think the real reason girls are turning away is because they can't stand the thought of looking at you," Rachel joked, as she approached, back from the water, a weathered looking Tobias slowly following.

"Rachel, now girls aren't looking because they think we're together.  And, really, it's a shame, because I'd love to be with you at any other time.  But I've realized it's never going to happen.  And guys with hot girls aren't looked at by other hot girls.  It's an unwritten rule."

Rachel gave him a look of pure disgust.  "Are you going in the water or not?"  She turned towards Ax, who now had bits of food on his arm as well as his face.  "Ax, get a towel and wipe that off, please."

Cassie snorted again as Ax proceeded to snatch a towel from a little blonde girl who was standing behind us.

"Let's get out of here before we have to explain that to the girl's parents," she said, grabbing my arm and dragging me towards the water.  I was surprised, because Cassie is usually the one to repent for our mistakes.  But, I followed, laughing as she dove into the water.  It was cool and refreshing, and I let my body soak it in.

"It's perfect," she said happily, splashing me as Tobias, Rachel, Ax, and Marco joined us.

"You just left the cooler there?" I asked.  "We're not going to have any lunch if someone takes it."  Marco began to laugh.

"Nobody steals coolers, you moron.  Besides, we aren't going to have any lunch, anyway.  Ax decided he'd taste test our lunch for us."

We all looked at Ax, who used his very human expression of shrugging.  "The sandwich you call ham and cheese was very delightful and pleasant to my human tongue."

"Ax-man," Tobias said, starting to laugh.  "Those sandwiches, plus that hot dog?  And the periodic intake of hundreds of cinnamon buns?  It's a wonder you aren't fat."

"The morphing technology does not let the morph absorb the food it ingests, nor does it feed the original body morphed from," Ax lectured.

"Ax-man, it was a joke."

"Oh.  Yes. Ye-hess.  Human humor.  Sarcasm.  Casm.  Ha. Ha."

"Don't do that again," Marco warned.  "Or I'll drown you."

"I believe doing so would cause you to become in trouble with your human law, Marco," Ax said matter of factly.

"Sometimes I really wonder what keeps me from hitting you," Marco muttered under his breath.

Meanwhile, Cassie had pulled me away from the others and pointed towards the horizon.

"Doesn't that look a bit odd to you?" She asked, gesturing.

"Doesn't what look a bit odd?"

"The fact that there's about five or six oil tankers out on the ocean, in the same spot?  Oil tankers aren't even supposed to be near here," she said indignantly.

I shrugged.  "Cass, so what if there's some oil tankers out there?  Can't we just enjoy ourselves and forget about it?"  Cassie gave me a steely look.  "I'll take that as a no?"

"What's up?" Rachel asked curiously,   "Why are you looking at the horizon?"

"Cassie finds it suspicious that there are boats out there," Marco said.  He'd obviously overheard.

"Suspicious.  Picious. Sss," Ax mused from behind us.

"Cassie, there are always boats on the water.  Boats float on water, boats are a mode of transportation used for the water, boats-"

"Marco, do us a favor?"

"Yes, Xena?"

"Shut up."

"No, Xena."

"Next time I'm a grizzly bear I'll-"

"Rachel," I warned, and she grinned sheepishly at me.

"Cassie, what did you say about the boats?" Tobias asked quietly.

"Well, five or six oil tankers aren't usually congregated around one spot, unless-  Wait!  There's another bunch of them over there."  We all squinted and stared out on the horizon.  Sure enough, there was another five or six boats joining the ones there.

"I don't like the looks of that," Cassie said quietly.

"Well, let's go check it out," Rachel said impulsively.

"Rach, that's really far out on the water," Tobias said.

"Yeah, well, the sacrifices of being an Animorph are-"

"Oh shut up, Marco."

"Ax?  What do you think?"  I asked him.

"I'm unsure, Prince Jake.  Perhaps we could give the man in the booth monetary notes in exchange for another hot dog.  Dog. Ggg.  Then, perhaps we could think it over?"

I sighed.  The fact was, I was hungry, and I didn't really want to investigate the fleet of oil tankers all congregating on the horizon.  I was quite enjoying being on the beach with Cassie.  And, everyone else, of course.

I looked around at everyone.  As the fearless leader, it was my job to make the choice.  Eat, or investigate.

"Let's go," I said resignedly.

"Let's do it!" Rachel said happily.  How she was happy, I was totally unsure.

************************************************************************


	3. Chapter Three

************************************************************************

**A Day at the Beach**

Chapter 3- Cassie's POV

I'm Cassie.  Just Cassie.  I know I risk sounding like a psycho when I say that there's a war going on with aliens from outer space, but we have to warn you.

So, doesn't it make sense then, that when I see ten or fifteen oil tankers congregated out on the horizon, I should question that?

Marco didn't think so, obviously.  And, I could tell by the look in Jake's eyes that he wasn't too thrilled either.

That's one thing I don't like, getting Jake upset with me.  I could tell he just wanted to spend the day relaxing on the beach, and don't get me wrong, I would have loved to have spent a bit more time with Jake shirtless than I had already.

Duty calls, I guess.

I was chosen to take the blanket, umbrella, and cooler into the dunes to hide them.  Ax and Tobias came with me, for a quick morph and remorph into seagulls, then flew out to wait for us.

I could just make them out, bobbing on the waves, when Jake, Rachel, and Marco approached me as I was walking back towards them.

"Change of plans," Jake muttered, trying to keep his voice low so the women passing us wouldn't hear.  "We've got to go seagull and meet them out there, it's too crowded to even try and morph dolphin."

"Righty-o," Marco said cheerfully, "Here we are, ruining our day at the beach, the day where I was destined to find the perfect girl-"

"Marco, I doubt you'll ever find the perfect girl."

Ignoring them, I turned to Jake.  "I'm sorry for ruining your day."

Jake smiled that smile that makes me go weak in the knees.  "Don't worry about it, Cassie."

"But I do worry about it," I said wistfully.  "What if I'm wrong about this whole oil tanker thing?"

Jake looked thoughtful.  "Cassie, your intentions are always right.  And, I trust you.  And if you're wrong, Marco will make fun of you forever.  It's not much of a change from usual Marco behavior, though, so I'm sure you'll be fine."

I smiled at him, then put my hand in his own.  Somehow he always knew just what to say to make me feel better.

By the time we arrived in the dunes, Marco was singing a song, and Rachel was getting aspirated, so we morphed quickly to seagull and quickly flew out to meet Ax and Tobias.

There is no way that woman needs a whole bag of Doritos to herself. 

Marco, this is the first time I find myself agreeing with you.  They say that 1/3 of America is obese, which means that woman should totally be sharing those Doritos with us. 

Because it won't be weird if she starts inviting seagulls to sit on her beach blanket, Tobias said.

Hey Tobias, Rachel called cheerfully, I didn't know you were in range. 

Actually, Ax and I are right to the left of you.  He found someone's leftover soft pretzel and he's infatuated. 

I had to stifle a thought speak laugh for that one.  It's just funny to think that for Ax, the temptations of being in a seagull body and being a human are so similar.

Everyone ready? Jake asked.  We all responded yes.  Good, he said, Because the tankers really aren't as far as they looked out on the beach. 

Straining our seagull eyes in the sun, we looked out towards the horizon.  The tankers, from here, only looked like they were eight or nine miles away.

That's not far at all, Rachel said happily, Let's go get them! 

Actually, that was exactly what I was going to advise not to do, Jake said.  Another couple of minutes of flying and we are going to peel off and morph to dolphin.  Seagulls don't fly ten miles out. 

So, we morph to dolphin and we get them! Rachel said excitedly.

Tobias, man, I don't know how you can stand her sometimes, Marco said.

I've learned not to listen, Tobias said dryly.

Excuse me? 

A joke, Rachel, a joke. 

It better have been a joke. 

Hey, Jake, I called to him privately, What are we going to do when we get out there? 

I could almost hear him sigh.  Not a good sign.  He wanted to be back on the beach checking out the hot girls in bikinis.  If I was human at the time, I would've cringed.

Well, we'll have to play it by ear, he said quietly.  Cassie, don't doubt your instincts. 

It figures.  Jake knows what I'm thinking even before I'm thinking it.

I'm not doubting myself. I said.  It was a feeble attempt though.  I felt bad, really, for ruining everyone's beach day by getting suspicious of a couple of oil tankers out on the ocean.

Cassie, maybe later tonight we can do something? 

Yeah, Marco would probably like that, if we made up for his ruined chance of getting a date. 

That chance was ruined the moment he arrived on the beach, Jake said laughing.  But, I meant, you know, just us. 

I was silent.  Like a date? I blurted.

Well, you could say that, Jake said awkwardly.  Okay, peel off.  Tobias, Rachel, morph to dolphin.  Rachel, hold Tobias up while he's in his bird form, okay? 

Sure thing. Rachel said, doing a neat dive down to the water and beginning to morph.  When she was fully human, Tobias flew down and landed nearby her and began to morph.  She held him above the water so that his feathers wouldn't become so waterlogged he would drown.

So, Cassie, what do you say?  Maybe a walk alone on the beach tonight? 

Sure, Jake.  I'd like that. If I was human, I would've smiled.

************************************************************************


End file.
